


Flight 404

by Whispatchet



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, Deal With the Devil, Minor Body Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-11 02:10:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 10,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11704641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whispatchet/pseuds/Whispatchet
Summary: Black Hat hadn't been expecting the small white plane to come crashing out of the sky into the side of his house. Nor was he expecting such an interesting character to come crashing down with it.





	1. Manor of Malice

404 was free. Nothing but blue sky stretched above him, and the ground whizzed by, so far away below him. Him and Horizon, and nothing more.

He giggled anxiously. Was he actually getting away with this? Had his Caretakers actually been caught unawares by the sleek white plane he had built, bursting out of the shed he had built it in? For people that had loomed over him since he was three, the idea was laughable. And yet, here he was; four hours since take off and still no retaliation. Well, at least not from them. He'd been hailed by military force or something about ten minutes ago… something about flying too low over a civilian residential area, and not having authorization for the flight path. Whatever.

He snuggled down in his seat a little, hands tensing around the flight controls a little before relaxing. He didn't know where he was, let alone where he was going. But, as long as he was away from there…

Suddenly, a burst of harsh static touched his ears.

 _"Ah, there you are, 404."_ A voice said through the communication lines.  
He jumped, and looked around. "Wh…. 101?!" He responded. "How…. how have you got a hold of my comm lines?!"  
The voice chuckled unpleasantly. _"Why, 404, I tapped your lines before you finished your little toy."_ It said. _"I hope you didn't think that the Caretakers didn't notice what you were up to."  
_ He growled. Too much to have hoped for, after all. "I wasn't as deluded as all that." He responded. "But they didn't make any moves to stop me." He drew in a deep breath, feeling his body start to tremble. "What do you want, 101?"

 _"I have been instructed to guide you home, 404."_ 101 told him. _"Wouldn't do to have my dear little brother lost and alone."  
_ "You're not my brother, and I'm not coming back."

 _"Rude."_ Was the response. _"You misunderstand me, 404. I'm not asking you to turn your plane around. I am_ telling _you to. Otherwise, the Caretakers have asked me to enact a rather harsh punishment on you."  
_ 404 swallowed. "Y-you can't do anything to me!" He declared, trying to keep the stutter out of his voice.

_"Well, see, that's the thing, 404. I can. I major in computer science, remember? I bugged more than just your comm lines. I will send you hurtling towards the ground faster than you can blink unless you turn around right now."_

The response was to gun the thrusters harder. "Like hell you will! I won't let you!" He shouted. "I'm not coming back!!"

There was a somewhat disappointed sigh from 101's side of the radio. _"What a shame."_ He said. _"You will be missed, little brother."_ And the radio cut out with another burst of static.  
  
404 yelped as his plane suddenly went dark, and started to pitch downwards. He sprung at the controls, flipping switches and trying to do anything he could to get the engine power back on.  
"No, no no no!! Damn it no! I am not letting you crash my plane!!" The engines flickered on for a moment, and his plummeting eased off a little, but only a little.  
  
Whatever that wretched suck up 101 had done to his systems, his efforts were only delaying the inevitable. 404 looked up through the windshield. He was coming down over some buildings… this was not going to end well!!  
  
He tried to get himself aloft for another moment, before deciding that he just couldn't salvage this.  
He pulled off his seat belts, and started to prepare to jump ship. But in his hurry to get free of the safety harness of the pilot's seat, he tangled his long legs in them, and flopped to the floor, striking his nose against the non-slip matting and bringing tears to his eyes.  
  
He gathered his wits as fast as his lightly shaken and heavily panicked mind would allow, and he gave his foot a little tug against the seatbelt. He looked back up through the windshield with a small whimper. He saw a flash of maroon, and then… Nothing.

 

~*~

 

Business was slow.

Black Hat wasn't in any danger of having to start scaling down his extravagance mind you, his finances were more than flush.

But he was finding the day to day an exercise in tedium. Even Demencia's antics were becoming just part of the static. He needed something new.

  
He had just finished up a very profitable consult with one of the city's local villains, when there was a loud roar from above. He had enough time to blink in surprise, before the roar became a CRASH, which rattled the very walls of the manor. Black Hat stumbled slightly.  
"What the…?" He looked up. "DEMENCIA!" He snarled. "What did you DO?!"  
There was a skittering sound, and his assistant burst into the room. "Black Hat!" She squealed. "What did you do?"

Black Hat huffed. "Whatever makes you think that it was my doing?"  
She shrugged. "You're the only other one here. And it wasn't me."

"Hmm…" Black Hat mused, before looking up at the ceiling ponderously. "Let's go investigate, shall we?"  
She nodded, and the two of them headed up through the Manor.

The attic level was mostly storage rooms and such. And one of these rooms, well, no, more like, four of these rooms, were completely destroyed. The culprit, it seemed, was the white aeroplane that had wedged itself into the top of their house.  
"Huh." Black Hat mused, picking his way through the remnants of the top level, hands clasped behind his back.  
"A plane!" Demencia squeaked. "A plane crash in our own home! Let's find what's left of the crew!" She giggled. "Maybe they're splattered on what's left of the walls!"

Black Hat wandered around to the cockpit area. He arched a brow, noticing a pool of blood on the floor by the nose of the craft. Getting closer, he found the source. Half hanging, half draped over the nose of the plane, through the shattered remains of the windshield, there was… a man.  
Boy, really. He was unconscious, and bleeding from several large gashes in his face and body, and looked like he had at least six or seven broken bones. It was probably only the lack of fire and explosions that the human was still alive at all.

Black Hat pondered carefully. This unceremonious arrival was a nice distraction, but he didn't really appreciate the mess.  
The human before him was dying, that much was certain; he could hear the gentle pitter of his heart starting to slow as it pumped more and more of his life blood out.

Black Hat extended a hand and took a single drop of the human's blood on a fingertip. He frowned. There was something…. Different about this human.

"Demencia!" Black Hat called to his assistant, licking the blood off his finger. The green haired girl looked over. "Prepare a room!" He announced. "I think I am going to invite our guest…. To stay."


	2. Contract

He came to slowly at first. It was like waking from drugged sleep, a feeling of lead in your muscles and cold mist in your mind's eye.  He was acquainted with the sensation, although there was this niggly feeling in the back of his mind that was certainly not normal for the sedatives…

404 sat bolt upright, a gasp filling his lungs with cold, crisp air. "The plane..!!" He squeaked. 

But he was not, turns out, in the wreckage of his craft. Nor was he in the soulless white halls of the medical area back home. He was sitting in a bed, made with luxurious red and black sheets and pillows, in a room that matched. The walls were done in a patterned grey and black wallpaper featuring a shape that he didn't understand the significance of, the floor done with a dark red carpet. 

Where the hell…?

He felt… weak. Not so much that he was worried, but like he might if he had a bad cold or something of the like. He… shouldn't feel this okay after being in a crash. Why wasn't he in any pain?

 

404 looked himself over. His clothes were gone, the bedsheets the only thing keeping him decent from the foreign room. And his skin was covered in curious black marks. Not scars, which would have made at least some sense. These were more like tattoos, which, when he ran his fingertips over them, he could feel a subtle texture difference between the blackened skin and the pale, lightly freckled alternative that surrounded it.He traced the largest of these marks, which covered most of his left hand, ran up the arm, across his collar and then up the throat, and onto his face. Now that he thought about it, his left eye felt strange too, although the vision out of it didn't seem impaired at all.

He pulled the bedsheet off his lower half. The marks continued down as well, although there were far fewer of them there. There was a swell of them around his right ankle and foot, but his gangly white legs were still as he remembered them, otherwise.

 

Now that was just weird.

 

He swung his legs over the side of the soft mattress and attempted to stand. When he seemed satisfied that they weren't going to betray him, he pulled the soft sheet off the bed and wrapped it around his thin, bare form in a makeshift toga sort of style. He was certain that anyone nearby didn't need to see him in quite that much clarity.  
Now safely covered, he started to inspect the room. It was mostly bare; with a dresser, side table the only other furniture nearby. There was a window, draped in red velvet curtains, which he stopped to run his hands over.

 

It was then, with no polite knock, that the door opened, making 404 jump and spin around.

 

He had never seen a creature like this before. It stood taller than he did, dressed in a sharp suit and top hat, the same colours of red and black and grey as the room he was in. He suddenly realised what the symbol was that was in the pattern of the wallpaper - it was the top hat.  
It took two steps into the room, swishing a simple, curved black walking cane as it did so, before stopping, perching both gloved hands elegantly atop the cane's curve. 404 watched it regard the undressed and arrayed bed for a short moment, before turning and looking square at him.

 

404 felt himself shudder.

 

"Ah hah." It said, voice dripping with suave, even when it rasped so. "So our guest lives, after all."  
"H….Who are you…?" 404 asked, finding himself shrink slightly under the steady gaze of the other creature.

It turned it's body to face him, and offered a sweeping bow, grinning with an unnaturally wide mouth full of sharp, sort of bluish teeth. "I am Black Hat." It told him, tone suggesting that he should recognise the name. "And you? Given we are being… polite."  
He winced slightly. "I ah… don't…. really have a name to give you." He said.  
Black Hat arched a brow curiously, something of a scowl starting to appear on his features.  
"I…. could give you my identification number though…… M...Mr Black Hat… sir." He added quickly. "I….. I am subject 404."

 The scowl in Black Hat's expression faded a little, although the brow stayed raised. "Well then, Subject 404." He said, placing both hands back on the top of his cane. "You find yourself in quite the predicament."

404 blinked. "I….. I do?"  
Black Hat's smile turned sinister. "I am a busy man, so I will be blunt. You should be dead. It is through my will alone that you aren't so."

 

The young man brought his left hand up and looked at the black marks in it. "This is… your doing?"  
"Indeed." Black Hat confirmed, stalking closer and grabbing 404's wrist harshly. "Although I do not do anything for free."  
"I…. I don't have any money…."  
"I had thought as much. Lucky for you, I don't want anything as mundane as money."

404 blinked, and tried meekly to get his wrist out of Black Hat's grasp. "What….. Do you want?"

"It's very simple." Said he. "As recompense for the new hole in my roof, and the continuation of your life, you will serve me in whatever way I see fit."  
"A….a servant?"

 

"Seems a small price to pay to ward off death, hmm?"  
"B...but… I… I mean… for how long?" The boy wondered. "I… I mean… I seem fine...!"  
"All delightfully temporary." Black Hat growled, releasing him. "For you see…" He snapped his fingers.

 

Suddenly, the black in 404's body melted away, and blood started gushing from his wounds, soaking the bed sheet wrapped around him. Almost instantly, he crumpled to the ground, letting out a scream of agony.

 

Black Hat watched him with an expression of disdain for a few moments, before snapping his fingers again. The blackness swelled to fill his wounds, and 404 whimpered as the pain started to fade.  
"You were unconscious the last time you felt those wounds." Black Hat purred. "How do they feel when you are awake?"

404 could only sob slightly.

A grin split Black Hat's face again. "I am so glad you understand the situation." He produced a piece of paper, out of nowhere, and held it in front of 404's face, offering a pen with his other hand. "Sign here… and the effects will become permanent. But, you, young sir, become mine."

 

404 weakly sat up, and gazed up into Black Hat's face. He seemed at a loss… freedom from one place, straight into the jaws of another. Maybe he was better off refusing, and holding still as Black Hat bled him to death on the carpet.

 

But even as he thought this, his hands were reaching out to take the pen, and scrawling a loose _'404'_ on the dotted line.


	3. Modest

Black Hat watched as the trembling youth before him took the pen and wrote his name (number?) on the line without so much as glancing at anything the contract said. That was the way he liked it; the unsuspecting were so much more fun to toy with. And though he was sure the human couldn't feel it, he had purchased more than simple loyalty.

 

He grinned at 404 as he rolled up the contract and stuffed it into his coat pocket. "Excellent." He said, before offering a hand to the boy on the floor. "Now, let's get you into some clothes."  
404 looked up at his new master for a moment, before taking his hand, and allowing him to haul him to his feet. "Y….yes Sir."

 

Black Hat seemed satisfied with that, and turned on his heel, striding out of the room, with casual swishes of his cane. 404 followed, pulling the now blood soaked sheets a little tighter around his skinny body.  
The halls of the Manor were very similar to the room he had just been in. The dark walls and dark carpet were throughout, and every decoration had a top hat motif in it somewhere. Even in the intricate details of the painting frames, there were little hats everywhere. 

 

They walked by a mirror, and 404 paused, finally seeing himself. 

 

As he had suspected, the black gash went up his throat and across his left cheek. It cut a dark swath up over his left eye, it's colour changed from the familiar baby blue to a dark red. A lick of his dusty red hair had darkened to almost black as well.

 

Suddenly, Black Hat was behind him, leaning over his shoulder. "Like what you see?" He purred.  
404 jumped, and sprung away from him, hardly avoiding crashing into the mirror.  
Black Hat just grinned. Ah, the boy's fear was delicious. "Come along, Subject 404. You will have all the time in the world to admire my work, later."

 

404 took several deep breaths to calm himself. What had he gotten into? Even the Caretakers had never frightened him this much. What…. What was Black Hat anyway?

 

Black Hat led him to a different room, and bade him inside. There were racks and racks of different clothes, of all different sorts. The taller figure started browsing, as if he was going to select himself a new shirt for the afternoon.  
404 blinked, and started looking through some pants.

The Master of the Manor watched the boy out of the corner of his eye. He was taking all this surprisingly well. Lesser humans had been utter wrecks after only a few minutes in his presence.  Black Hat hadn't missed the utter lack of recognition when he had introduced himself either. This…. 404… clearly had no idea what sort of house he'd found himself in.

No matter. He'd learn before long.

 

404 hadn't noticed Black Hat watching him, thinking only of finding something that would fit. When he found something, he awkwardly tried to shimmy the jeans on, whilst keeping the sheet over him otherwise.   
Black Hat scoffed. "Humans and their modesty."  
404 looked over, a ponderous look in his eyes. He wanted to ask, but at the same time, it seemed like a stupid question to ask. What human had ash coloured skin, for starters?

 

Once 404 was satisfied with his clothes, he looked at himself in a mirror. "....Heh." He smiled a little. "Despite your best efforts, 101."

 

Black Hat arched a brow. There was a certain look in his new toy's eyes.

 

Maybe he'd be of use to him after all.


	4. Impress Me

Black Hat allowed 404 another few moments to admire his new clothes, before heading for the door. "Now then." He said. "Come along."

404 blinked. "Ah… what about the sheet?" He wondered, holding it up.

 

Black Hat hardly glanced at it, before it burst into flame in 404's hands, burning to a cinder in hardly a second. The boy yelped, dropping its smoldering remains.

 

Black Hat smiled, pleased with the reaction, before turning back down the hall. "Now to business!" He said, swishing his cane as he walked. "To find something to bend your back to."

404 scurried after him. "I…. I am sure I could do something sir!!" He declared. "I…. I have lots of skills…!!"

"Oh?" Was the reply. "Like what?"

 

"We-well…. I built…. I…. I mean I designed and….. Engineered the…. Plane?"

"I hardly think that would benefit me."

"I… I can make other things..!!"

 

"BLACK HAAAAT!" A voice suddenly screeched. 

A green and red shape sprung out of the darkness, diving at Black Hat. He took a single step to one side, and instead of tackling him, the assailant landed belly first onto the carpet at 404's feet.

 

It was a…

 

"..A girl?" He wondered.

The girl looked up and blinked at him. "Oh!" She grinned. "You're from the plane crash!"

He leant back from her. "The…..  well… yes... I suppose?"   
  
"Demencia." Black Hat growled. "What is it?"

She pulled herself up and grinned at Black Hat with her own set of fangs. "I wanted to see if you were going to eat him or not!" She said, sticking out her hip. "I was going to make you share!"

404 yelped. "E-eat me?!"

 

Black Hat snorted. "Hardly." He said. "And you know I never  _ share _ ."

 

Demencia giggled. "So, what's your story, Plane Crash?"

404 blinked. "M…. my s-story?"

"Yeah! Not every day we get guests at the manor." She said with a grin.

404 looked nervously at Black Hat. "Well… I… ah….."

Black Hat responded to 404's unsure look with a dismissive glare. "Later." He said, heading down the hall.

404 winced, and followed.

Demencia walked beside the newcomer, hands clasped behind her back. "You're gunna love it here, Plane Crash." She whispered, grinning broadly."We have the best fun."

 

He had some doubts.

 

As they walked through the halls of Black Hat's house, 404 started looking around. There were a lot of guest rooms, trophy rooms, and rooms that 404 weren't sure what they were for.

But then, he saw something that made him stop.

 

A door on their left was ajar, showing a large, chrome room. He forgot to be afraid for just long enough to step away from the hall, away from Black Hat's back, and slip in.

 

"Hey!" Demencia hissed. "What are you doing?"

She glanced at Black Hat. He hadn't stopped walking.

She frowned, then ducked into the room after 404.

 

He was looking around in absolute awe. The room that had caught his eye was a research lab of the highest quality. Every piece of equipment he could possibly imagine was here…. Even some pieces that the Caretakers hadn't had in their labs.

"Wow…."

 

Demencia huffed. "Wow, what?" She said. "It's just Black Hat's nerd lab."

"It's amazing!" 404 told her, mismatched eyes shining. "I've never seen a set up like this before!"

She arched a brow. "You like this sort of thing?"

"Oh… yes." He responded, nodding. "I've lived almost my whole life in labs like this." He smiled sadly. "I dunno…. Knowing there is a lab like this here… makes me feel… safer."

"Safter?" She wondered.

 

"Don't worry." Black Hat chimed in, leaning over 404's shoulder again. "I'll soon cure you of _that_."

 

His sudden appearance had the desired effect; 404 sprung away from him with a yelp, stumbled, and fell to his knees, before whipping around to stare at him, eyes wide.

 

Black Hat chuckled. If this was the best the boy could muster, he would probably be frightened to death before long.

 

"I take it you know your way around a facility like this then, Subject 404?" Black Hat asked.

For some reason, 404 felt himself twitch as his new Master called him by his number. "Y… yes sir."

"What could you do with a facility like this one at your fingertips?" Was Black Hat's next question.

 

404 blinked, mind already turning over with what he could make. "I… I could… I…."

Black Hat watched the young man practically salivate at the thought of using this lab. The almost trance like glaze in his eyes as he tried to decide just which one of his ideas he wanted to talk about.

 

Black Hat nodded. "I see." He swung his cane around and firmly rapped it against 404's head. "You have 24 hours."

404 winced and rubbed his head, before looking up at Black Hat confusedly. "....sir?"

 

"24 hours, Subject 404." He repeated. "Impress me."

404 hardly managed to restrain his squeal of glee. "I won't let you down sir!!"

 

Black Hat nodded. "See that you don't."


	5. A New Venture

404 sat on the floor in the middle of the lab alone for what had to have been about 20 of his all too precious 1440 minutes. Black Hat had dragged Demencia out of the room by her hair to give him the quiet, although she hadn't seemed as though it bothered her, or even that it had hurt.

 

24 hours was not a particularly long time, he mused. He wanted to do something impressive…! But with such a short timeframe… He didn't have the time to work something out from scratch.

 

404 bit his lip. This was not a house of rational people. They were brash and violent, and not the slightest bit afraid of him. So, perhaps this was the perfect venue for a little…. Pet project of his.

 

He scrambled to his feet and grabbed some blueprint paper, starting to scrawl something out. 

 

The Caretakers had been a baffling bunch of people. They had pushed him to excel, and yet, at the same time, didn't want him to get too creative.  As a child, he and each of the others seemed to fall into different fields of expertise… his had been innovative engineering. But their attitude towards this seemed to shift when he was ten, when he created a laser pistol from scratch, with spare materials he had found around the place. 

 

It had hardly enough power to make toast, but, given that he had aimed the thing at the back of 202's knee and damaged the nerves in the joint, not only had that been taken away, but his freedom to innovate went from 'minimal' to 'virtually non-existent'. They allowed innovation when it came to improving existing products, such as increasing efficiency and other such improvements, but he was not allowed to try and find a way for an air conditioning unit to use liquid nitrogen to turn a room into a blast chiller, or rebuild and overclock a kitchen kettle so that it would melt steel.

 

Utterly boring. 

 

Here, though, 404 got the impression that there wouldn't be such concerns. 

 

And Black Hat hadn't said WHAT he should do. Just to do something.

 

The pistol had come a long way since the prototype he had made as a child. It was his favourite thing to work on when he had some time to himself, re drawing and retooling the schematics over and over again. Like it were a reminder, that he could reimagine and innovate, better than anyone. And while he had never thought to attempt to build a new version, he had the plans basically to heart. 

 

In retrospect, he probably could have built one or two of these in a fraction of the time it took to build the plane, and fought his way out of the facility with no difficulty. At the time, though, he hadn't wanted to hurt the others, or even the Caretakers. That notion, given they were willing to splatter him across suburbia, was well dead, and if he ran into them again, he would ensure that he had at least a big stick about his person.

 

He paused in his work, thoughts startling him a little.

 

If he ran into them again? 

He wasn't really hoping it would ever come to that. If they found out that he was alive, he wasn't sure what they would do. He wasn't really sure why they had decided he needed to come back to their facility or breathe his last, either. It couldn't have been as simple as not wanting what was theirs running off. What was it that made him…. That made any of them… worth that much?

 

He sighed. He wasn't theirs, anyway, he reminded himself, going back to his welding.

 

By the time the 24 hours was up, 404 was tired, but still working. He had finished the gun, and was pondering doing a few test fires, when Black Hat walked in.

 

"Time is up, Subject 404." The taller creature announced as he entered, looking around at the scattered materials through the lab with an arched brow. 

 

404 squeaked. "J…. Just a second, sir…!" Well, he wasn't going to get a chance to test it, but…!

 

Black Hat watched as the young man dug through a pile of stationery, and grab a permanent marker. He should be stopping him, but, he was also just darn curious what final touch he could possibly want to do with that.

 

404 brought the marker around, and, just for good luck, quickly and crudely drew a little top hat on the side of his creation. Then, putting the marker down, he picked it up and carried it across to his master. 

"I'm sorry sir." He said. "I didn't…. Get a chance to test it, but…." He offered it to Black Hat to take.

 

The little top hat drawn on the side was a cute touch. He doubted it was the boy being sarcastic; he'd clearly noticed the theme around the manor and was angling for some brownie points. 

 

Black Hat turned it over in his hands. "A gun?"

 

"A…..a laser, sir." 404 told him. "I….it…. It's was all I could think of in such a short amount of time…!"

 

Black Hat didn't wait for 404 to finish speaking. Taking the weapon by the grip, he aimed it at the far side of the room, and pulled the trigger.

 

The beam of vivid green that blasted out of the end of the pistol was much larger than 404 had been expecting. It cut a perfect, circular hole through the wall of the lab, and, judging by what 404 could see after the smoke cleared, through four hallways, two rooms, and straight out the side of the manor. Demencia could be seen in the distance, looking through the hole it had created with a rather bewildered expression on her face.

 

He curled in on himself. Ooooh nooo… He'd pushed it too far….!! He risked a glance at Black Hat, expecting to see the taller creature furious….!

 

But, Black Hat was simply looking at the weapon in his hands with mild surprise.

 

"........Do……….. You like it?" He wondered, dreading the answer, but desperate to hear what thoughts were turning over in his master's mind.

 

Weapons were a child's thing, he had always thought. You would play with sticks and rocks until you learnt how to use the power behind your fingertips. Of course, this had been an opinion formed before he had encountered humans for the first time. Naturally born power in this species was horrifically rare, and when it appeared it was still no better than what a whelp could summon, for the most part.

 

Not that it had stopped them, mind you. He had seen almost impressive feats of villainy from humans that knew how to use toys and tools to their best. You didn't need powers to be powerful.

Black Hat straightened his back and snapped his fingers with a raspy "A ha!" that made 404 flinch away from him.

 

He smirked toothilly at the young human. "I believe I have just come to a conclusion." He said. 

"You…… have?" 404 wondered, voice squeaking in fright.

"I have been looking for new ventures… " He pet 404's head twice, in what could almost be affectionate if it wasn't also almost slapping him across the head. "...We are going to become Ironmongers, Subject 404."

 

404 rubbed his head where Black Hat had been petting him. "Ironmongers?" He wondered. "Weapons Dealers? Isn't that…" Illegal? Immoral? "...Dangerous?"

 

"I believe the word you are looking for is 'evil'." Black Hat corrected him. "And yes. Yes it is." His inhuman grin grew. "That's the idea." 

 


	6. Loud and Clear

Over the next few days, 404's efforts were being focused on tidying up the look of his weapon design, and then, once Black Hat was happy, creating a few dozen of them. 

It wasn't especially difficult once he had all the final testing items out of the way, mass production was a simple enough process once you could machine all the pieces with confidence.

 

Demencia brought him food while he worked, although she seemed begrudged to do so. It was mostly instant noodles or pizza, nothing with any thought or care put in… or even any cooking efforts on her part. When he eventually got the courage together to ask her what she and Black Hat were eating, she got this weird look on her face. 

 

"I've never seen him eat." She told him. "I don't know if he does."

 

404 pouted. "T-then what was that quip about him eating me the other day?!" He responded.

She blew a raspberry at him. "Oh lighten up, Plane Crash." She teased. "It was all in fun."

"...I didn't find it fun…" He muttered, grumpily.

She gave him an unexpectedly understanding pet on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it." She told him. "You'll have to, now that you live in a House of Evil."

 

He frowned at her. "There is that word again." He said. "Mr. Black Hat said it before too… that making weapons like he wants to is 'evil'."

She blinked at him. "Don't you know who Black Hat is?"

404 shook his head a little. "No. I was never given much about the social scene outside our compound." He told her. "...He seemed to think I should have, though, from his introduction."

 

"What kind of rock was your place under if you have never heard of Black Hat?!" She exclaimed, unable to imagine how you could be ignorant of that. "That's like not knowing who Wonder Bat or Fire Spider is!"

 

He looked awkward. "I…. have no idea who they are, either." He admitted.    
She was gobsmacked. "You've never heard of those loser heroes? Really?"   
"I told you- they didn't let us even read the newspaper or anything in there."

 

She blinked. "....Why not?"

 

He shrugged, and put his noodle cup on the floor beside the desk before getting back to work. "I stopped wondering why the Caretakers did anything years ago."

 

She would have continued to pepper him with questions for the rest of the week if she had been able. But, Black Hat's voice rang through the manor, sounding distant, but still enough to make the walls shudder.   
_ "DEMENCIA! COME HERE!" _

 

She sighed, and poked her tongue out at 404. "Sorry, Plane Crash. Duty calls!" And with that, she skipped out of the lab, to do whatever it was Black Hat needed her for.

 

Many of his interactions with Demencia were like that. She seemed to like him, and was fascinated by him… in the way a child might be fascinated by an insect. He could only hope her fascination helped keep him on her good side. He wasn't sure what sorts of things she was capable of, and he didn't want to find out.

 

Once he had finished the weapons Black Hat had asked for, his new master called the young man into his office.

 

It was a decadently decorated room, much like the rest of the manor. It was actually sort of a familiar room to 404; the Caretakers had offices much like this… with a desk in the middle, a chair for guests to sit in, opposite the person of importance, and assorted bookcases and cabinets and other such things on the sides of the room.

Of course, Black Hat had a different aesthetic to his Caretakers. They had been all about white and chrome, modern and clean. Here, it was black and red, lush fabrics and regal designs.

 

"Y… you wanted to see me… Mr B-Black Hat, sir?" 404 said, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Come in, Subject 404." Black Hat replied, motioning at the seat across from him. "Take a seat."

His number made him wince, but he obeyed, slinking across the room and sitting on the very edge of the seat that Black Hat had indicated.

"Have the weapons been finished?" He asked, steepling his fingers slightly.    
"J-just about, s-sir." 404 responded. "I just have to do q-quality testing and polish the last few…"

Black Hat nodded. "Excellent." He said. "I will be having our first customer here later today. They will be expecting a demonstration."

 

404 pulled a face. "Did…. you have something…. In mind, s-sir?" He asked. "I….. don't suppose you….. wanted to put another hole in the side of the h-house…"

Black Hat simply smiled at that remark. "No, no, Subject 404." He said, noting how his newest acquisition twitched. "We will be taking them to town."

404 blinked. "Taking them to…. Town?"

 

"Indeed. He wishes to see them in practical use. He is going to take you along with him on his next venture."

404 bit his lip. "What….. kind of venture?"

Black Hat shrugged lightly. "I believe he was planning some sort of child's errand at the local bank."

"Y…." 404 couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You want me t-to help him rob a b-bank?!"

The shark-like grin grew. "You catch on quickly."

 

Several thoughts flicked through 404's mind at once. He thought of all the ways that such a venture could go wrong, ending up with him hurt, dead, or in jail.

But then, he thought of the worst outcome, and he paled a little. 

 

"I…..c-can't do that!"

 

Black Hat arched a brow. Something frightened 404 more than he did? What an insult. "Dare I ask why?"

404 hugged himself. "If the Caretakers see me… they'll… c-come after me for sure…!"

 

The ash coloured creature huffed. "I haven't asked where you came from, Subject 404, because I don't care." He told him. "You can wear a bag on your head for all the difference it makes to me, but you  _ will _ go out there and make yourself useful!" He stood from his chair and leant over the desk, pupil vanishing, and teeth seeming to grow longer and sharper. "Have I made myself  **_clear?!_ ** "

 

404 yelped and jumped out of the chair, diving behind it in fright.

 

Black Hat huffed and sat back in his chair, features returning to normal.  He would make a villain out of this nervous wreck. Even if he had to kill him to do it.


	7. Mayhem to Rend

404 suspected that Black Hat had not expected him to take his words quite as literally as he had decided to. But, after wracking his brains for twenty whole minutes trying to work out a way,  _ any  _ sort of way, to hide his face from view, he cut some holes in a brown paper bag and settled it over his head. It was not the most elegant mask, but it would do. 

He added a pair of goggles to hide his eyes, and his disguise was complete. The only way the Caretakers could recognise him now was if they heard his voice, and he was not planning on talking much during this endeavour.

 

Robbing a damn bank.

 

He was not looking forward to this. He knew well enough that there probably wasn't going to be a huge vault with billions of dollars in convenient sacks. At most, there would be maybe five hundred thousand or so, which hardly seems worth the risk of getting arrested, shot, or something else. But if Black Hat says jump, at this point, all he could do was ask how high.

 

The client arrived at the Manor before long. He was a giant brute of a man, with a surprisingly loud green and crimson costume. When Black Hat met him in the foyer, with 404 nearby, he bowed to the much shorter creature, and then offered a handshake. 

 

"A pleasure to meet you face to face at last, Mr Black Hat!" He declared, voice booming. "I am looking forward to seeing this new weapon of yours that you are selling!"

Black Hat shook the client's hand, grip obviously stronger, despite being smaller than this giant being. "Indeed, Haolwizer." He responded. "I am confident you will find it to your liking."

 

"Will you be joining me yourself?" The 'Haolwizer' fellow asked.    
"Not this time, I am afraid, I have other clients." Black Hat answered. "However, one of my staff will be joining you, to demonstrate." He motioned to 404, where he stood on the far side of the room, two of the weapons in his hands, hoping that the paper bag was hiding his terrified expression.

 

Haolwizer looked 404 up and down. "A little skinny for this kind of venture, ain't he?"

"Looks can be deceiving, dear sir." Black Hat said, turning to face 404, which made the young engineer twitch. "Have you got the weapons ready for our client?" He asked.

 

404 squeaked and held them out towards Black Hat so he could see them. "I..h-have brought t-two of them for the c-client, M-mr Black Hat s-sir…!!" Ugh, his voice was so shaky!

 

Haolwizer chuckled. So, the mighty Black Hat actually had a bumbling sidekick. It was comforting to know that even a monster like this succumbed to the classics.

Black Hat looked over his shoulder at their guest. "I do expect him back in one piece when you are done."

 

"Ah… I wouldn't d-dream of letting any harm come to your staff, Mr Black Hat!"

 

404 blinked. Even a giant creature like this…. Stuttered when standing before Black Hat. Why did this slender gentleman in a suit...command such power? Even over someone like this?

 

Black Hat nodded. "Good. I look forward to your review, later." He put a hand on 404's shoulder, before giving him a slight push towards Haolwizer. He stumbled a little, but kept his footing, thankfully. With only a small glance back at his master, he strode over to their client.

 

He looked up at Haolwizer's face, squinting up at him through the dark tint of his goggles.

Haolwizer looked back down at him. "Goodness you're tiny." He huffed. "Well, come on then, we have mayhem to rend!" And with that, and a casual to salute to Black Hat (who nodded slightly in response), their guest turned, and headed back down the path to the street with thundering strides.

 

Almost comically parked on the street beyond Black Hat's front gate, there was a huge four wheel drive, with big monster truck wheels, painted in the same bright red and green as Haolwizer's costume. 404 was sure that his plane sticking out of the roof of the Manor was more subtle than that.

 

"In you get, small one." He said, motioning for 404 to climb inside. "Time is wasting!"   
  


404 clambered inside as best as he could, awkwardly clambering up what little steps there were on the side of the thing, before strapping himself into his seat belt. He glanced out the window at the Manor as they drove off. His heart sunk a little bit, as he realised he missed it already.


	8. Wasn't so Bad

When they arrived in town, 404 was feeling self conscious. He had no reason to really; he was wearing a mask, so no one would recognise him. But still, people were staring at them.

How could they not stare, when you bulldoze through the main street in a garish christmas coloured monster truck?

 

"Here we are, little one!" Haolwizer declared as they came to a stop, deciding that 'little one' was what he was calling 404 for the duration. "Out you get!"

"Ah… where is 'here'... sir?" 404 asked,as they all got out of the vehicle. 

The brightly coloured villain looked at him. "Central! Did Black Hat not tell you what we were going to do, today?"

 

404 shook his head. "M...Mr B-black Hat only mentioned something a-about robbing a bank?"

Haolwizer laughed. "Rob a bank? How pedestrian!" He declared. 

404 frowned. "T… then… what  _ are _ we doing?"

 

Haolwizer smirked. "We're going to make an example of someone, little one." He said. "Someone that has done wrong by me."

And with that, the giant man strode over to the bank on the other side of the road and brutally kicked in the door.

 

There were screams of fright from inside the building. 404 hesitated, but then trotted inside after their client.

 

Haolwizer was a fast worker. He had frightened the civilians in the bank into hiding under desks and chairs, and the people behind the counters were doing much the same. With the exception of one of them, which the giant was grasping by the front of his shirt. 

 

"You really should have known better, Thomson." He was saying. "...than to double cross me."

 

The teller was, for his credit, not actually that afraid of Haolwizer. "Oh, do come now James." He said with a huff, trying to pry the giant's vibrantly coloured fingers from his shirt. "You really ought to rethink where your hostilities lie. I did as you asked."   
  
The giant pulled the smaller man over the counter and dragged him towards 404, where he was still standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Did as I asked?! If you did as I asked, then I would not have a rutting crater where my base of operations should be! Do you really think I wasn't going to work out that it was you? Selling me out to the Council?"

 

He was huffed at. "Then you should pay your subcontractors properly." Was the snark. For someone caught in the grip of a giant, the Thomson fellow wasn't at all afraid. 404 was utterly baffled by it.

 

Haolwizer tossed the smaller man to the floor at 404's feet, making the young man squeak with surprise. Thomson looked up at the giant. "So, what? You know your powers don't work on me, so, what do you expect to do, James?"

 

Haolwizer hissed at his common name being used in public so casually. "I thought of that." He motioned to 404. "Time to show me what that toy of yours can do, little one."

404 squeaked and fumbled with one of the weapons a little. "O...Oh… of c-course…!" He offered it up, but Haolwizer scoffed.

"I beg your pardon, YOU are going to use it."

 

404 felt his body tense up. "Wh….me….. S-sir?"

 

"Of course you! I'm not laying a finger on one of those things until I know they work!" Haolwizer huffed. "Your dear employer assured me that it would be able to cut through Perfect Defense over here."  
There were some whispering from behind the counter and under the chairs. The term 'Perfect Defense' seemed to be familiar to the cowering civilians, but 404 didn't recognise the name at all.  
The man on the floor hissed. "Great. Outed by the likes of you…?"   
Haolwizer smirked, putting his heel into the other man's chest. "If all goes according to plan, you won't have to worry about your identity being out much longer." He glared at 404. "Kill him!"

 

404 bit his lip. "K…...Kill him? J-just…. Just like that?"

"Are you thick? YES! HURRY UP!" He boomed.

404 yelped, and pointed the weapon at Perfect Defense's head. There was still no fear.

"Puh-lease." He huffed. "I'm not called Perfect Defense for nothi-"

 

He never got a chance to finish his boast.

 

With an impressive display of dizzying colour, the laser cut clear through whatever it was that gave Perfect Defense his name, and reduced the man's head and torso to a fine ash, as well as a lot of the floor.

In hardly a few seconds, Perfect Defense was reduced to a pair of legs and hips, the raw edges seared and smelling of ozone.

 

404 just looked at what was left as Haolwizer cackled in mad delight, and kicked the remnants of the body into the hole. "There! See, little one, that wasn't so bad, was it!!"

It had seemed a little like overkill, but, 404 shocked himself by internally agreeing with the giant man.

 

It hadn't been that bad, after all.


	9. Not Your Little One

Haolwizer was indulging in an extended maniacal laugh, now that Perfect Defence was dead. Ah, it felt good to come out on top!

 

404 let him have his laugh. He was a little too interested in looking at the civilians having conniptions under the chairs and desks around the room. Apparently, Perfect Defence was supposed to have just that; he had powers that granted him defense against basically any kind of damage... except what came from a few hours tinker from 404, apparently.

 

"Excellent, excellent!!" Haolwizer laughed triumphantly, snatching the weapon out of 404's hands abruptly and looking it over. "Wonderful! Something that can even penetrate the so called Perfect Defence! And to think I'd ever doubted….I should have known better than to doubt something made by Black Hat!!"  
404 looked around again, as Black Hat's name sent another ripple of fright through the people cowering around the room. Oh, but of course. Black Hat was well known. Demencia had already implied as such.

 

"Um… actually…" He started, making Haolwizer look down at him with an arched brow. "...I-I made that."  
Haolwizer spluttered in disbelief. "What…?"  
"I-I made th-that." 404 repeated.  
"You?!" Haolwizer reached down and lifted 404 off the ground by the back of his jacket, making the smaller creature squeak in fright. "Impossible! You're the very  _ essence  _ of a bumbling sidekick! How could YOU have made this?!"

 

"I-it's the truth!!" 404 squeaked. "I hand-made e-every l-last one!!" There was a small pause, and then he added, "......and I'm…. not a sidekick…."

 

The giant pondered the trembling form in his grasp for a moment. "This…. works perfectly!" He declared, finally.  
404 blinked. "It….. does?"  
"I had hoped to find some way of getting out of having to pay for these if they worked, and this is the best possible outcome!" He grinned with a sinister glint in his eyes at the helpless 404. "Come and work for me, little one!"

 

404 felt a cold mass settle in his stomach. "B-but….!"  
Haolwizer chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, I won't treat you poorly. And you can build weapons for me all day long!"

 

He actually thought he could just get him to up and work for him like that? Black Hat would be furious if he entertained the notion, even for a moment! And… besides…  
404 brought a hand up, and rubbed at his neck, and the only black mark not covered by something. If he ran away… then the only thing keeping him alive… would melt away.

 

"No th-thank you…" He muttered, finally. 

 

Haolwizer growled. "I beg your pardon?"  
"I-I….. refuse your o-offer…"  
The giant snorted. "Oh, little one, you really took my tone too seriously." He said. "It was not an offer, it was an order."  
Oh, so he was being kidnapped after all.

 

He struggled a little. "Pl..please… put me down!"  
That only earned a derisive laugh. "Only to shove you in the boot of my car, little one! You belong to me, now!"

 

404 felt an unexpected bubble of contempt float up into his throat. H-how dare he. Just declaring who he belonged to! And to think he'd… he'd planned on running off with his weapons from the start, and never even paying Black Hat what he'd asked for! Sure, there was that whole, 'evil' thing he was still getting his head around, but the engineer felt just a tad insulted at the audacity of it all.

 

He gave another struggle, trying to see if he could wriggle out of his jacket to get out of the behemoth's grasp.

Haolwizer laughed again, and gave him a little shake. "Come now, my little one, don't be like that. You'll like working for me!"

 

"I-I'm not your l-little one!" 404 spat out, wishing he could get the stutter out of his voice, just this once, so he could at least sound as angry as he felt. 

 

He froze, though, feeling something hard brush against his side.

 

Oh.

 

…o h…

 

t h a t w a s r i g h t…

  
  
  


_ He'd brought two. _

  
  
  


404 grabbed the second weapon from where he had it in his jacket and brought it around. He hesitated just long enough to see Haolwizer's eyes widen in realisation, before pulling the trigger.   
This time, overkill was really not the word for it. The giant hadn't the luxury of Perfect Defence's resistance and so the blast burnt through Haolwizer's head in an instant, continuing upwards, through the roof of the bank, and off into the sky. The civilians around screamed again, and there were shudders from the roof as the smell of burnt flesh touched the air again.

 

The giant's body stood frozen for a few moments, before his arm, and the rest of him, started to go slack. 404 was dropped, landing on his rear with an undignified "Oof!" He looked up with plenty of time to watch the giant's body finally topple backwards with an almighty crash, sending another ripple of terror through the cowering crowd around him.

 

404 pulled himself up, panting hard, trying to get his heart to stop trying to burst out of his chest. Slowly, he picked his way over to Haolwizer's body, and prodded it with his shoe. 

"S-sorry." He said, with less sarcasm than he meant. "....but I work for Black Hat."

  
  
  



	10. Flug Slys

Now, this posed an immediate problem. 

 

How was he supposed to get back to the manor? He had no idea where he was, or which way they had gone to get here. To be fair, he probably wouldn't have much trouble finding someone to point him in the right direction… the manor had been rather obviously in the middle of an otherwise normal suburb. And if Black Hat was as infamous, surely he could gently grab one of the people trying to keep out of his notice and say, very politely, 'I'm lost, which way to the big house shaped like a hat' and be rather reliably on his way.

 

_ God  _ that sounded pathetic even just thinking it.

 

It was about then, that confident applause started echoing through the quiet bank. 404 jumped and whirled around, hand tightening around the grip of his weapon.  
Standing there in the doorway though, was none other than Black Hat, cane hooked comfortably over one arm, a rather satisfied smirk on his face.  
404 squeaked. "M….Mr Black Hat…!!"

 

"I must say, this is even better than I was expecting." Black Hat said, striding into the chaos towards the lifeless body of 404's second victim for the day. He stopped beside Haolwizer's body, and looked at it with a critical eye.

 

"Ah… I-I…" Oh no, was…. Was he going to be scolded for killing the customer? "I-I'm s-sorry s-sir…! B-but… he… h-he s-said he w-wasn't-going t-to pay th-the bill a-and th-then h-he was g-going t-to kidnap me a-and I-I thought y-you'd b-be a-angry s-so I-I…!" He tried to explain, but cut off as Black Hat held a hand up in a 'stop' motion.  
"Tut tut." He said. "Do you really think I don't already know what you got up to here?"  
404 blinked. "Y….you do?"  
Black Hat chuckled. "Why, yes." He slid his cane's arch down his arm to his hand, and then used the shaft to point at the security cameras in the corners of the room. "Rather amateurish, to be honest. Haolwizer was so desperate to give Perfect Defense his comeuppance, he didn't bother doing anything about the cameras. They have been live-streaming the 'siege' over all channels since the two of you arrived."

 

404 suddenly felt sick. "A….are they…. Still recording?"  
"Naturally!" He responded. "After all, we don't want anyone else getting any silly ideas, do we." He smirked, showing off his sharp fangs. 

Filmed. That whole fiasco had been filmed from four angles, and broadcast in colour and full audio to the freaking WORLD. 

 

No, this… this was fine. Come on 404, you're fine. Just… just count your breaths. In, and out. You'll be fine. You're totally fine. Black Hat isn't mad at you, the Caretakers are still oblivious… it will be fine. Just…. Keep breathing. But for goodness sake don't open your mouth or you will most certainly puke. Give Black Hat a little nod, and let him take you home.

 

Black Hat gave his new acquisition a cursory look up and down. He couldn't see his expression because of the bag and goggles still covering his face, but his whole body radiated discomfort. What a mystery this man was. Not ten minutes ago he obliterated someone's head with hardly a second's hesitation, and now he looked like he was about to pass out.  
Offering what little mercy he was capable of, Black Hat turned towards the door, and strode towards it, with that familiar, confident swish of his cane. "Come along now, I think we're done here."  
404 hurried after him.

 

They managed to get all the way back to the gates of the manor before 404 finally pulled his paper bag back and threw up what little he had in his stomach onto the lawn. Black Hat said nothing of it, he just stood there, patiently waiting until the young man was finished heaving.  
He stepped closer, standing beside him. "....First life you've ever taken?" He wondered.  
"A…..and...s-second." 404 wheezed, out of breath, the taste of stomach acid on his tongue.  
Black Hat prodded him with the end of his cane. "This isn't guilt coming out of your stomach, I hope?"

 

404 sat back on his rear on the path, and looked up at the sky, breathing deeply. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again, and tilting his head slightly to look up at his master. "........I don't….. t-think it is, s-sir."  
Black Hat arched a brow. "Oh?"

 

404 nodded, and closed his eyes again, carefully breathing in and out.  
"...What is it, then?" Black Hat wondered.  
He thought about it for a moment, and then answered, "....Relief."   
Black Hat scoffed at that.  
"I-I know, right?" 404 smiled awkwardly up at him. "How silly."  
"At least you are smart enough to realise your own folly." Black Hat returned. "Come on, we have things to do."

 

404 weakly pulled himself to his feet, and watched Black Hat stride up the path towards the door.  
"....Oh… Sir?"  
Black Hat paused, and looked over his shoulder at the gangly creature standing behind him.    
"What."  
404 rubbed his arm awkwardly. "Ah… I…." He blushed a little. "I-I realise that y-you're….. probably not one to g-grant people f-favours." He couldn't look at him. "B-but…. I was….wondering if….. I c-could… ask one of you."

  
  


Well this was new. True, 404 had no real concept of who he was and what he was capable of, so it was easy to chalk this one up to naivety. But, he'd already said it himself: he didn't grant favours. So this was a spectacular display of courage, almost moreso than his efforts at the bank. It made Black Hat dreadfully curious as to what the human was going to ask of him.  
"....You can ask." Black Hat told him. "But that doesn't mean I'll do it. What do you want?"  
404 bit his bottom lip, and then lifted his head to look at Black Hat's slightly curious frown. "M...Mr Black Hat Sir…. could you….. Maybe….. N-name me?"

 

Black Hat felt himself actually recoil ever so slightly at the request. That….. That was what he wanted? A name? Did he even realise what that would… no, silly question. Of  _ course _ he didn't.  
"You have a name, Subject 404."  
404 actually hissed at that. "I-It's not a name!" He argued. "It's a number! An ID tag that  _ they _ gave me! Like I w-were livestock!" His hands were balled into fists and he was shaking. "But I hate it!! It marks me as theirs and I can't stand the thought of that any more sir!! It's  _ why I ran away! _ !" He shouted, slamming his eyes shut.

 

It was interesting seeing such passionate words come out of the creature that, so far as he had seen, was normally a barely coherent mess. It was a great glimpse into the way he thought. How he hated and feared those people he had run from… seemingly more than he hated or feared Black Hat. It was a weird feeling, knowing there was something that could frighten someone more than he could. But then again, he had only had this human in his clutches for a short time. Whereas they…. These mysterious figures he had so desperately fled from… had him for years. So he would learn fear.

 

And it was interesting how… seriously 404 took their deal. He hadn't even read the contract before signing it, and Black Hat hadn't shown it to him since then. So he surely didn't realise just how literally Black Hat owned the young human. Even so…  
404's eyes snapped open as he felt a hand rest on the top of his head. He looked up in bewilderment, and found Black Hat standing close to him, a serious expression on his face, his left hand resting gently against his hair.

 

"Flug." Black Hat said firmly. "Flug Slys.  _ That _ can be your name."

 

A lesser creature would have missed it. But as those words hit the boy's ears, his eyes unfocused, and a shudder ran up his back, all in a split second.

 

"F….Flug, sir?" He whispered as Black Hat withdrew his hand.  
Black Hat only nodded.   
"Flug…..Slys…." He said it again to himself, a grin slowly spreading across his two tone face. Then he let himself make eye contact with his master. "I….am ...F-flug Slys….!!! I… I'll do my best f-for you…. M-Mr Black Hat, Sir!!" He declared, utterly thrilled.

 

Black Hat sneered at him, utterly disgusted, at the boy and at himself. "Good." He growled. "Come along, Flug."  
"Coming Sir!" Was the cheerful reply, as they headed back inside.


End file.
